Quick random thoughts:

Possible: 1. Purge 2. Trap smokey in cabin 3. When does he escape?

Jacob asked Ilana to help him. She was the entire reason Sayid was on the plane. AND it was by force, when Jacob is all about free will. I don’t know what this means about Jacob’s purpose for Sayid, but just sayin.

Mom suggested in the parallels vein, that Kate will still end up delivering Claire’s baby, just now in the back of a taxi while holding her hostage! Nice

After a long discussion, we pondered the idea: MIB = Moses, Richard = Aaron, Jacob = the false idols, the remaining question: Who is God? Moses (Ben even CALLS Flocke Moses) comes down from the mountain to see Aaron (Richard, the man chosen to speak for the head guy) has given the impatient Israelites golden idols to worship (in mom’s words “fell for Jacob’s shenanigans”). Moses is pissed that they just couldn’t wait for him to come back after speaking to God. He busts a tablet. (I am VERY disappointed in ALL of you!) Moses also just wanted to get to the Promised Land (HOME), but in the end was prevented from doing so.

The Temple folks: Who are they and what are they worried about? Mom suggested they are actually afraid of Jacob, now that he’s dead, maybe he can do something. Smokey was the guardian of the Temple, suggesting he was the friendly force around here. I don’t know that this can hold up. It’s just as sensical that they are just afraid because now that they KNOW Jacob can be killed and has been, they are on their own. The Kierkegaard book found at the entrance is titled after this Bible verse: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling… The book has other relevance as well, and we discussed the whole idea of trusting in the absurd, which I have no time to explain, argh!

Hopefully more in a while…

OK, where was I?

I was starting to analyze what we know about Smokey so far.

He’s been around since ancient times, as suggested by the hieroglyphs depicting him with Anubis, which implies both the Island and Jacob were there as well. (Although there are entire histories of possibilities in the idea that Jacob was later put there to balance Smokey/MIB or Jacob unseated Smokey/MIB in some way, etc.) He is summonable and is clearly a security system of some sort (for the whole Island it seems, and the Temple specifically?), although what other purpose he serves (justice or vengeance, etc) isn’t quite clear or consistent yet.

OK, he was also around and free in Dharma times. They built the sonar fence likely to fend him off, and built the barricks, specifically the home of the leader of DI, over the summoning pool. (With what level of awareness did they do this?)

He was active in the 80s, ripping off arms and all. (The rest of the group went in after Montand, but how were they “sickened”? Did they get captured by Others and taken to the Temple? Did they become Others? Is there some other sickness other than what happens when you are submerged in the pool and become one of them? Is there a Smokey possession thing that occurs besides the normal Smokey takes the form of a body or a person from your mind? This is murky to me…)

I would like an explanation of his relationship to the Temple, the Cabin, and Jacob.

And here’s something: Everyone is freaked about MIB coming but prior to this had seemingly forgotten about his existence. Wherever he’s been, whatever he’s been doing, it’s been a long time of them feeling quite safe from him, yet they all seem to be aware of Smokey. He’s been running free and “protecting the Temple” and “protecting the Island.” So does that mean that none of the Others, including Richard, are aware that MIB and Smokey are one and the same? They seem aware of both Clark Kent AND Superman, but have never known that they are the same. That makes me lean toward the idea that Smokey is its own entity, but either or both MIB and Jacob have found ways to control it. Having watched again, we see Flocke disappear behind a column, where he could have hidden inside it or in the floor if he knows of a way, then from the hall comes Smokey. And after Smokey leaves, Ben tries to go out the same way and Flocke appears behind him, as if he never left the room. And when asked if he IS the Monster, Flocke does not actually answer. In addition, the theory of Locke being the Smoke Monster came before the thought that he was MIB because Locke disappeared just after Ben falls through the floor of the underground Temple passages and is visited by the Smoke Monster then “Alex.” (This is definitely MIB, right?) And of course, in the podcasts and interviews, Darlton have said “Locke is the Smoke Monster.” Of course they haven’t said that Jacob isn’t ALSO the Smoke Monster. *shrug*

Back to what we know: Smokey killed the Pilot without even blinking. But he chased Kate, Charlie, and Jack and all lived. The banyan trees still seem to be something he cannot pass. Then he stares down Locke, who claims to see a beautiful bright light. When he next appears to Locke, he is not initially afraid (implying he felt familiar with the creature), but it tries to take him underground, like with Montand. He makes no moves against any other person after they drop dynamite down his pants.

When he approaches Eko the first time, Charlie witnesses it, but it pays him no mind (Charlie was also in a tree, but it placed the Pilot in a tree, so…). Eko sees people from his life and Smokey downloads all the necessary information to test and manipulate Eko. It manifests as people from Eko’s past and most importantly as Yemi, who it communicates meaningfully as. (If it could appear as the others, did it need Yemi’s body to appear as Yemi? Why was Yemi’s body missing?) Eko dies though because he is not “amenable for coercion” like Locke is; he is not repentant; he is, in fact, a threat (if Smokey is MIB or is sympathetic to MIB’s needs) to Smokey’s ends. He will build the church, he will push the button, he may up the “faith” factor of the Island (making Jacob stronger), baptizing people, getting people to start a cycle MIB’s had to endure a dozen times before, and maybe through all of this, making Jacob stronger or proving Jacob’s point, IDK. He would be a direct threat to MIB’s use of Locke, certainly.

Smokey is supposedly the reason for the spiders that paralyzed Nikki. Kate and Juliet had a run in, where the banyan trees protected them and Juliet was clearly scanned, although she had known of the entity, since she knew the sonic fence would repel it. Ben called the Monster to attack the mercenaries from the freighter, but that was basically a wash. Was that because the mercenaries assisted MIB in his plans or were they spared by Jacob, possibly even to support his ends?

Smokey’s reactions to water on the Island have been speculated on for a long time, and we’ve never had evidence he can go to Hydra Island. And if Jacob has influence or dominion over the water, then Smokey might be repelled by it.

And what is the relationship of Christian to MIB to Jacob to Smokey?

Some minor easy predictions while I’m yapping:
Miles is dead soon.
Jack is still the most important dude.
Aaron comes back into play.

Jack does not remember in Timeline 2. He’s just dejavuing. Did he come into consciousness at any point in time and what is the importance of that point in time? I think, although many things were altered since Swanfest 1977, the main thing that was needing altering was the moment at which Oceanic 815 (or whatever plane holds our important Losties, or even just Jack, for that matter) passes over the Island. At that point, Jack begins to have strange feelings because this is the critical moment. I can’t even say “his consciousness” plays a part because that implies flashes, which I do not think is the case. I do think the Timeline 2 Jack is informed by the finished Timeline 1 Jack. The “New” Jack is more laid back and OK with things. He admits he cannot save Sayid and allows someone else to take the lead and can accept responsibility for what happened to Juliet and Sayid without the usual Jack reactions. As R said, he finally has what his father said he did NOT have.

I am in support of the possibility that yes, Timeline 2 is actually a flashforward/back, wherein Jack, at the end of Timeline 1 (1977 bomb through 2007 Swan/Temple), has figured out what must be done to actually make this work, and all the bomb did was blow them to the point in time in which they could actually save Jacob and themselves. But I think it’s just as likely that this really is a parallel timeline in which we get to see both things that happen.

OK, R is here now, so I will jot more down later…

Good lord, I still haven’t been able to go out there and see what other people think, but here’s more crap from my brain.

I need to cover some of the Island stuff, obviously. I like that the writers created another reason for allowing Jin to chill with Danielle’s bunch in the 80s. I was satisfied with the “cuz we want to see the Danielle story first hand, so why not!” answer, but adding the idea that it motivates the leadership and powers of Hurley and allows them to know where to go is so cool.

The List. How old is this list? Hurley, Jack, Kate, Jin, and Sayid were on it, then, since they were willing to bring in Miles and Sawyer even though S “took out 4 of them,” it’s probably safe to say they might be on it as well. It’s probably the list of people we saw Jacob touch in the finale, which would include Sun and Locke, not Miles that we’re aware of, so why save him?

The water: “not clear.” They didn’t seem experienced with unclear water, so it must be a rare-if-ever occurrence, which supports the idea that Jacob’s death caused it. I think Jacob made the water holy to the point that it purifies even itself, but when he died that protection was gone and it became regular dirty old water. The water thing may be a confirmation of Season 1 theories that the people healed faster and were stronger because of some element, probably the water. Surely Jacob would have blessed the whole spring which would come up in more than one place, maybe at the caves, for example.

Healing process: I assume we are seeing what Ben went through as a child, with the exception that the water was clear. Supposedly the water makes you “forget” and makes you “one of us.” But if the water was not working when Sayid was drowned in it, then what has healed him and made him forget? The Temple peeps seemed surprised at his resurrection, which implies Ben and Richard weren’t lying: Dead is dead. So what is in Sayid? Initial response was Jacob, but I’d think Jacob will be in someone else at the end (Ben? Jack? Aaron?), and too much body-hopping seems gratuitous. And if dead is dead, then this isn’t exactly Sayid. Hm. I have mixed feelings about this. Sayid needed to be put out of his misery. He was likely never going to be able to redeem himself, although maybe his extracting and modifying the bomb was the act that saves him (although again the larger implications of that bomb could be that the entire world is altered from that point forward, which is typically self-centered and short-sighted of the losties, eh?). But what is it that is in him at this point? If Jacob, why and how? If not Jacob, what and why?

This brings up Smokey. Many previous theories had Smokey as the Man in Black, or as a third entity to help balance MIB with Jacob, or even as both MIB and Jacob, depending on the circumstances. The actions of Smokey were definitely sometimes bizarrely contradictory until the idea of two opposing forces came to light. Smokey seems much less erratic if you consider him as being on the side of MIB. MIB has lied about his identity before, so would he lie about being Smokey as well? I don’t necessarily think so, although it was a bit interesting that they didn’t actually SHOW Flocke becoming Smokey. Should we take his word? I think so mainly because it would feel like such a rip to find out otherwise. BUT it would NOT feel like a rip to see that Jacob can be a type of Smokey as well. I don’t think this is the case, but I wouldn’t be disappointed if it was true. I think the Smoke Monster IS the Man in Black.

What do we know about the Cabin? It was supposedly built by Horace so that he, Amy, and Ethan could get away from Dharma life. The blueprints were still on his body, so did he ever finish it before Ben killed everyone in the Purge (which is generally considered 1992ish)? Ilana in 2007 was under the impression that it was Jacob’s place, as was Ben in 2004. Which implies that at one time the Cabin WAS Jacob’s. How and why? In 2004 we see an entity inside, but we also see a cloud of smoke, implying it could have been Smokey (which may mean it was MIB all along). Richard in 2007 seemed fully accepting that the Foot was Jacob’s place (and it appeared to have been for a very long time). How long had Richard been aware of that? Had he lied about the Cabin? Why? Why did Ilana believe that same thing? The Cabin was surrounded by ash, which we know to be something Smokey cannot pass, which implies someone was being protected from Smokey. But if Smokey/MIB can’t kill Jacob anyway, why would Jacob need to be surrounded by ash in a cabin? The other side of this is that Smokey was trapped inside, but that can’t be true because we know Smokey was out at times that someone was supposedly there. Is ash a weakness of Jacob’s as well? Was he trapped in there? Wait, was maybe the MIB part of MIB trapped IN the Cabin while the Smokey part of MIB was out running wild?

What do we know about Smokey? He was active on the the Island, near the Temple (although not necessarily IN the Temple), when Danielle’s team arrived in the 80s. (Damn, so much more to say here, but have to go!)

The hourglass: looked like sand and ash, (black/white? light/dark?) probably the same stuff that Richard asked Locke to claim when Locke was a foster kid. I always thought that didnt quite look like beach sand OR ash, but was probably some mix of both. Interesting this length of time. How much was it? Does it vary? Do you have to keep the person underwater for that length of time no matter what and if they drown then too bad, but if they don’t then it was meant to be? Obviously Jacob isn’t the one who decides, since Dogen believed Jacob wanted them to save Sayid and then he died.

Well, have to go for now…barely got anything out again!

Getting back into the practice of even having time to have a coherent THOUGHT about Lost is going to be difficult. I don’t know when I’ll have time to do this, but first, general impressions:
Flash-sideways!
Flocke is Smoky!
Flocke mocking Locke!
Underwater?!
Slightly different things all over the plane!
Smoky cleverer than Bram!

Parts of the show were slow and a bit draggy for what appeared to be minor reveals that could have been revealed other ways, probably:
–Everyone exiting the plane, slow reveal that Locke is still crippled, even though this leads to one of my favorite scenes of the whole series, with Jack offering to fix Locke *delight*, unless they were trying to show who WASN’T on the plane, but I don’t know about that, since we didn’t see Claire, but did see her in a taxi).
–Digging Juliet out just to have her die, but apparently go into flashes beforehand so she knows “it worked”?

Generally super happy, HUGE amounts of stuff to tear apart. I have no idea how I’m going to pick apart everything that I want to on here. I still have to talk about it in depth with Mom and R too!

Plan to update all week long, though

One thing I wonder about is that the pilot said when they crashed they were a thousand miles off course, because the instruments went all wonky and they turned back. So a thousand miles from where they crashed the instruments went wonky? I guess this time the instruments never even went crazy because the Island was under water and dead, so no signal to pull them in? So normal flight, and much shorter flight. I think I’ve always been a bit bothered by the space/time distance between instrument funk and crash. Hm. Anyway.

OK, it seems clear that everything since the bomb has proceeded differently than Timeline 1. This Timeline 2 is different at least for our losties, but as indicated by the submerged island, apparently also for DI folks, Islanders, and who knows, maybe the whole world. The things we saw on the Oceanic flight (which, was it ever directly referred to as flight 815? If jack was in a different row, maybe it didn’t have to be 815 either? Why do that, idk. probably you don’t do that, but just sayin.)
So since Everything Changes…
General:
Pilot is still Seth Norris, not Frank Lapidus. Cindy is still a flight attendant.

Jack:
Timeline 1, Cindy gives Jack 2 bottles of alcohol. Of course, he needed one to fix his wound on the Island, but if there’s no island, guess he doesn’t need that second one, eh? So he’s still a bit of a drinker, and is still coming from Sydney to bury his dead father, so most of his story appears to be similar.
The conversation between he and Rose is different. She consoles him instead, and he appears to be more than a little worried.
The cut on his neck. Maybe a callback to when Daniel says “Did I have a scar on my neck when we met? No, because I hadn’t been shot yet,” and then he proceeds to let everyone know they can die.
Supposedly Jack is in a different row, but I don’t know yet. I haven’t been able to look up anything yet…
And I just want to point out the Alice through the Looking Glass feel of him staring himself down in the mirror, maybe wondering what bizarre life is through there…
Also, Jack seems cooler. Imagine if an airline lost Timeline 1 Jack’s dad??

Rose/Bernard: We do not know if she still has cancer, if she EVER had cancer, if that’s why they were in Australia. She wasn’t wearing Bernard’s ring around her neck that I saw. I don’t know what mag she was reading yet, but the back says “The truth is out there” so that’s awesome.

Desmond: What the hell reason ever would he have had for being in Sydney and on the plane? Was he really there? Has he gone all time-rogue now? Or was he legit there? In Timeline 2, safe to assume Charles Widmore died on the Island in 1977 when the bomb exploded, meaning maybe no Penny (unless she was already born, but we have no indication of that, since Widmore was still with Ellie on Island at the time. idk about this yet…), which would absolutely mean no boat race and no Island button pushing, etc. His world may have been entirely different. I’m super interested in his line right now! (Also he had a book which I know nothing about yet…research! When???)

Hurley: Lucky bastard!

Kate: We don’t know if she’s in cuffs for the same reason, although the comic con vid indicates same thing, different guy. So the essentials are the same. But this time she escapes, with a hostage: Claire! Kate’s purpose is a mystery to me (unless it is entirely because her raising Aaron is what gave her the sympathy to save Little Ben and set him on his path). I’m hoping What Kate Does is the answer to her importance. Jacob touched her and her name was on the list in the ankh, and I’m supposed to trust Jacob, Room 23 told me to.

Claire: Is Claire pregnant? Why didn’t they show her on the plane? What if she’s there because she somehow had a relationship with Christian in this timeline and was going to LA to see him or to the funeral?

Charlie: He was going to flush the drugs before the crash last time. This time he tries to swallow it and chokes (or does it on purpose). In any case, he would have preferred death and seemed assured of it. Instead he is now jail-bound.

Sawyer: We didn’t really get much info, though he seemed in decent spirits and already up to helping out a fellow outlaw (Kate) and conning a doof (Hurley), so how did his quest to shoot Sawyer work out?

Boone: No Shannon. Oh thank Jacob. But still he’s drawn to Locke. Nice

Jin/Sun: Jin still obviously wanted to run away with Sun to America. I don’t remember when we found out he had thought this, but I know that I knew about it. He was going to deliver the watch then off they go. I don’t know what would have changed in Sun’s past to make her still select that ugly sweater but not learn English and plan to leave Jin. If her past is the same, then she’s lying about the English, but what caused her to get on the plane this time? Still thinking…

Sayid: I really want to see how his story plays out with going to see Nadia. Does it happen? I assume this means he was still a torturer? Did he still have to work with CIA to nail his “terrorist” friend to get to LA?

Locke: Was he lying? Did he really get to go on the walkabout? If he did, then how was he on this flight? He seemed just as depressed as ever when he exited the plane, but then a bit cheery when philosophizing with jack later. Again, adore this scene between them. The scene that should have always been.

Walt/Michael/Tailies: Do they exist on this flight?

Do we need to hold on to Ellie’s warning to Des that the universe has a way of course-correcting? Is Timeline 2 a course correction, or an oopsy that the universe will attempt to course correct through…

…Parallels. some things are happening anyway, things that would have happened had the plane crashed.
The pen: Jack/Charlie to Boone/Rose. Jack saves both Charlie and Rose anyway. Note: Does Kate take Jack’s pen at the bathroom door? The more I think about it, I think so, I just blinked or something. Cuz yeah, he needs it later, and then she has one later. So yeah.
Jack’s quest to blow up the bomb/Locke’s quest to not push the button. Both of them were “more sure of this than anything in their lives” or something like that.
The Marshal still gets head-whapped.
Jack saving Charlie’s life after he dies.
Jin does the button your shirt thing to Sun.

Nice man of science/man of faith commentary with Locke offering Jack some faith that his father is in a spiritually better place, and Jack seems happy with it. Then Jack offers Locke a little bit o’ science through a free consultation, which Locke sweetly accepts. All kinds of interesting changes here!

What sunk the Island?
Could’ve been the bomb, although surely it would have destroyed all the Dharma barracks, etc. Wait! There have been hints of “earthquakes” and a volcano was on one of the maps, so maybe the bomb set off the volcano, and that’s what sank the Island.

I love how I have just barely begun…

OK, I adore Lost with all my heart. I do have one problem, but I can’t decide if it is a problem.

A lot of the reveals so far are pretty obvious. They make me really happy though.

They might be obvious because they are poorly written, that’s always a possibility. I think for some reveals, this may be true. The answers to the secrets are not so poorly written as the insanely dramatic or long buildup to the reveal of them. It feels like when that head turns we are going to be blown away, but since we have already figured it out, there is too much buildup, not enough payoff. I’d prefer the story be revealed more coyly, as if only slightly aware of the magnitude of the reveal. Just keep going, don’t pause on it, don’t dwell, don’t have Hawking turn her lovely gray head after lighting a candle for the 5th time. We know she’s the end-all, be-all right now. The important stuff is Ben’s face as the pieces fall together for him, connecting her to Faraday and Widmore. It is NOT so important just that she is Faraday’s Mom. We knew that already. We did NOT know that Ben didn’t know. Ben’s level of knowledge about things is ALWAYS a better reveal. And it was filmed and acted with subtlety and perfection. Why can’t all the reveals be like that?

That said, the idea that Hawking is Faraday’s mom is totally great despite its predictability. I think I would have been disappointed had some random Other been Faraday’s mom instead of who we knew it was all along. But we have had a lot of seasons to learn Lost’s game. They are going to have to do a better job of switching things up plausibly OR lessening the drama of certain reveals.

When you open a question in Season 1 or 2, by the time Season 5 comes around, I probably have unraveled the mystery on my own by gathering clues. This means the reveal is bittersweet. It’s amazing and I LOVE seeing the payoffs for things we’ve waited so long for. I feel handsomely rewarded this season. We have carried certain questions around for a long time and getting those answered feels spectacular!

But there is the bitter anti-climactic “duh” about a lot of the long, drawn-out reveals.

A reveal that was handled well: Montand losing his arm and Danielle killing her friends. Sure, Jin living and finding her was a plot device contrived for exactly the point of showing us that story, but it was layered with more information not just about the truth of the Danielle’s story told in Seasons 1, 2, and 3, but with more information on Smokey and the Temple and the Sickness.

So far this season I was convinced Danielle’s reference to Sickness and the Others’ reference to it were the same thing. And then when people started getting Time-Travel Sickness I thought THAT was the answer to all of them. That now appears to not be true. And the ARM! OMG! And Montand possessed by Smokey (or whatever happens) “I’m OK, a little hurt, but fine, come down here” was the creepiest thing ever.

I can see why some people wouldn’t care about the Danielle story, but I have ALWAYS wanted to see it, and this was an excellent way to show it. And I have ZERO problem believing that Danielle would NOT remember a Korean dude she met for like two hours in the jungle 16 years ago, especially since she spends not 5 minutes of screen time with Jin later in the show.

As far as Jin being alive still, I do have a bit of a problem with it because Sun’s entire life since that day has been spent in revenge mode and now…he’s just alive? And she’s just going to agree to go back? What about Ji-Yeon? Again, I trust Lost to give me answers, even if they are next year. And Jin’s living and being close enough to the radius to end up back on the Island, equal parts plausible and implausible. I think he probably could have survived because he was REALLY close to the edge of the boat and easily could have been blown off it, though they showed no people on the deck at the time. I think being in the radius is actually the more implausible thing and could have been answered by having him float in on a bad coordinate (rather than skipping around like the 815ers), ending up in 1988 with Danielle’s team the entire time, living with them until he must hide from crazy Danielle and meet back up with Sun when he is older (Danielle aged, I assume he would have as well) in 2005-9 after she returns. THAT would be a sweet reunion and would make me feel better that her vengeful years were not spent in vain.

Crud, time’s up, gotta go for now…

Again, only three measly books. It’s a pathetic thing. Don’t I LIKE reading? Yes. I just have so little time for it. One of the books I only “read” because it was on Playaway. I think I’m going to do this more often. Cuz seriously, although it takes the reader much longer to read to me than it would take for me to read to myself, I’m not doing hardly ANY reading, so they might as well do it for me.

Diary by Chuck Palahniuk.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.

Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk.

Yep. That’s it. And even worse, that was my last month of reading! The new reading year has begun! ACK!

I don’t read anymore. Other things have taken over my life. Should I half-ass this and just put the titles and authors, or should I consider this entry as an assignment in which I should actually make the effort to tell you what I thought? Can I even remember what I thought back in June? For now, I’ll half-ass it. Ah. Goodie.

The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin.

Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan.

The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk.

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates.

Sandman 1,2,3,4 by Neil Gaiman.

Thoreau at Walden by John Porcellino

What: Sights by Susanna Vance
Why I read it: Was doing a display on child abuse and this one sounded interesting.
What I thought: Was cute but a little TOO cute. I don’t usually go for “southern” themed books, to be honest. I really liked the characters, but there wasn’t nearly enough about her having or using “the sight” and it was just a bit too southern for me.

What: The Problem with Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler
Why I read it: One of those that someone brought in that looked good. Plus it was kind of short.
What I thought: Why did I pick another southern book!? Argh. The concept was good, the main character is dead and we see her friends dealing with that, and occasionally we get her perspective. Unlike Lovely Bones, Murmur rarely observes her friends. She is more a floating consciousness. Again, the characters were good, and I like books from various narrators. But it was too stereotypically southern, and I would have been more interested in Murmur’s journey. Also, this is sort of marketed as a mystery, when really I paid little to no attention to the “mystery” of how she died. It was really easy to figure out and no one really stressed about it too much.

What: Standing Still by Kelly Simmons
Why I read it: Looked interesting. A woman is kidnapped and we see the relationship developed between her and her kidnapper.
What I thought: First off, totally wrong title for this book. For some reason, I really felt like I related to some parts of this book at this time in my life. Maybe it was too simple, too easy for some people, but psychologically I totally got it. I’d recommend this one.

What: You’re Broke Because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead by Larry Winget
Why I read it: Cuz I’m broke.
What I thought: Really, this is the best book to read. It’s a series of punches to the gut. Reminders of things that you are already aware of, you just need someone to say it. Will I follow the very simple advice within? No. Because honestly, I kind of want to be broke. I’m just not comfortable when I have money.

What: The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas by Robert Frank
Why I read it: I like economics still. For some reason. Especially as it applies to human behavior.
What I thought: Short, interesting book about why some things are the way they are. Mostly taken from essays written by students of the author. Basically, a question is asked (Why does x cost more than x2, when it costs more to produce x2?) with economically logical explanations for each. It was a little different than I thought it would be, but I actually retained information from it; I think I may have LEARNED something. What’s that about?

What: The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Why I read it: Interesting summary on dust cover.
What I thought: Turns out, not that interesting. WAY more about the coach than the abstinence teacher. Promising idea (crazy culty church vs. secularist teacher) becomes pathetic semi-love story about former drug addict, current religion addict coach… actually I think the point was there’s a middle ground the two finished up on, but it totally didn’t succeed in making me give a crap. One annoying thing is that I’d be reading in the coach’s present then suddenly I’d realize I’d been reading about his past (which is supposed to be some sort of excuse/explanation for his behavior now) for 20 pages before he finishes doing what he was doing in the present.

What: A Shortcut in Time by Charles Dickinson
Why I read it: Hey, a time rift appears in these shortcuts in this town. Sounds cool.
What I thought: Most of it was cool. The brother storyline was good, although resolved too easily. Only real complaints: The dad accepted WAY too quickly that it was a hole in time. The dad accepted way too easily his daughter staying in the past. The daughter accepted way too easily the changed future without mom. The parts with the first traveler were terrific, but also were cut off too quickly. Again, a lot of promise…so close.

What: You Are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life by Gillian McKeith
Why I read it: I needed a push to eat better.
What I thought: Great book. Although there’s nearly no way to actually live all her advice, there were many things that I do now (drink warm water when you get up, don’t eat fruit within 30 minutes of eating anything else) that have made a difference. It was a short, encouraging book from which you can easily pick and choose the things you are able to follow.

What: Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals by Karen Dawn
Why I read it: Cuz I’m all about the animal rights.
What I thought: Terrific terrific book. It doesn’t weight you down with pages and pages of proofs on just one subject. It gives an excellent summary, proof, and talking points for dozens of aspects of the animal rights movement. Quick answers are sometimes the best. It worked perfectly in this case.

What: Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
Why I read it: Graphic novel. Looked cute. A doggie and a robot are friends!
What I thought: Well, it really ticked me off that the doggie left the poor robot in the first place. So that tainted what was intended to be a precious, lovely commentary on friendship. Erasing that part, it was great. And the robot was very forgiving, even though he should have destroyed the dog with his laser eyes.

Uh, yeah. How long did it take me to do this? No time to do in-depth reviews, but I’ll get back to it. For now, here are some quick thoughts.

What: Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert
Why I read it: It’s about library patrons.
What I thought: Cute, but maybe not totally worth publishing without a few more weirdos and stories. We’ve had crazier.

What: The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Why I read it: Sawyer told me to.
What I thought: AWESOME. Read it. It’s short.

What: VALIS by Philip K. Dick
Why I read it: Locke told Ben to read it. Ben said he already had. Locke said, read it again, maybe you missed something.
What I thought: Honestly, I don’t even remember it now. Maybe I need to read it again, too.

What: God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question–Why We Suffer by Bart D. Ehrman
Why I read it: Cuz I’m totally into this kind of stuff.
What I thought: Excellent. Written well, quite concise. Uses examples. Point is that all the answers the Bible provides about the specific question of suffering are inadequate or even contradictory, proving that even the writers of the Bible didn’t agree on an answer. Of course, that makes the book seem dissatisfying: If there IS a god, there is no adequate answer for what the hell he’s doing. Really liked this one.

What: Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola, George Barna
Why I read it: Thought it was going to be about where Christians got christmas trees, etc.
What I thought: It wasn’t really about that. It was directed at Christians, trying to show them what the Bible REALLY says about church and Christianity. It was actually pretty good. The version I read had additions (the authors answer reader questions) that weren’t in the previous release, so that was helpful. Only complaint is that it was a directive to open church meetings. But, well, if you believe that’s what god really wanted, you’re gonna preach it. So it was totally excusable as part of the nature of christianity.

What: Skim by Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki
Why I read it: New graphic novel.
What I thought: A quite good illustration of confusing teenage sexuality.

What: The Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness by Jeff Warren
Why I read it: Felt like it.
What I thought: Loved it. FUNNY as hell and totally informative. There’s this part where Buddha talks to him, but he has a Jamaican accent…good stuff. Who knew a study in the stages of consciousness could be so fun and actually stick with me?

What: Survivor: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Why I read it: Because I’m becoming a big ol’ Palahniuk fan. What’s with that??
What I thought: Totally whacked out greatness.

What: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Why I read it: Wanted to read some kids classics, but honestly, most of them bore me. So I went for Newberys instead. Picked this one first cuz it’s so dang popular.
What I thought: Pretty great, actually. It’s really a commentary on racism, which I didn’t know, but still is fun and sad and pretty terrific without being too preachy.

What: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Why I read it: Newbery.
What I thought: BORING. BORING.

What: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, Matt Phelan
Why I read it: Newbery.
What I thought: Cute and sweet. Not terrific.

What: The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Why I read it: Newbery. One of the most well-known.
What I thought: AMAZING. Loved everything about it. Read it. Crazy surreal world/future/village/utopian setting. Read it.

I’m a Juliet fan, so I love any episode featuring her! But ominously, it was a flashback, which makes me worry for her off-island prospects. I was pretty sure she wasn’t making it off anyway, but I’m holding out hope…

Summary: Locke and Ben play politics while Juliet follows Daniel and Charlotte to the Tempest station to sabotage what she thinks are their plans to gas the Island. In flashbacks, we learn about Juliet and Ben’s relationship.

• The therapist is named Harper Stanhope. Is Stanhope Goodwin’s last name, or just hers? All this time I thought “Goodwin” was his last name, but obviously it’s his first name.

• Juliet complains of feeling like a celebrity (which was a mislead to make us think this might be a flash forward, but sadly, it was not to be). This reminds me of how Locke felt when he arrived among the Others.
• Juliet builds a shelter on the Island and Sun asks “Why bother if we’re leaving?” Juliet knows she’s not leaving. *grumpy green guy* That make Hulk sad
• Argh! More whispers! I can’t wait to find out what they say. But I don’t like listening to their creepiness alone, so I’ll wait till later.
• Harper! Was she really sent by Ben? Is she alive? Juliet didn’t seem surprised to see her, implying she knows it is possible for her to appear. Does Juliet know how people convey messages around here? Thru some form of teleportation or astral projection? It has to be physical since Jack saw her too (and Sayid saw Walt with Shannon). If it is some sort of projection or teleport-type thing, that could explain some of the whispers. The whispers could be other people around the person projecting. I always remember the movie The Others in these situations. They were occupying the same space but in different dimensions/times.

• Oh yeah, Harper! So if Ben sent her, we didn’t see it or know about it. He seemed pretty distracted with Locke through this whole episode. It could have been a previous plan with Harper, but it seemed very well timed. Of course, that may have been the plan. Wait until the right time. Anyhoo, travel by smoke monster and whispers seems fun.
• So they are going to the Tempest. Obvious Shakespeare reference here. Although there already were lots of untones from The Tempest in the show. 1. The Island. 2. A guy manipulating a group of survivors. 3. Redemption/repenting stories. 4. Caliban = Cerberus = Smoke monster?
• Goodwin lies about his burn. The power station isn’t just a power station. Juliet’s first real hint about Ben’s deceit and first opportunity to bargain.

• Daniel’s map sure had a lot of “unknown?” comments written on it. Where did they get this map? Obviously someone who didn’t quite remember or know, but who knew enough…hmm…
• Kate is so stupid. How many times can you walk into a situation where you don’t belong and turn your back!?
• Awesome Juliet line: “It’s very stressful being an Other.”
• She also says “You don’t wanna see my file.” But we don’t get any bad impression about her. What could she possibly think Jack would disapprove of or judge her for? He’s been quite accepting of Kate, even knowing what she has done. But it makes me think that Ben wouldn’t just pick a girl like Juliet because she looks like mommy. He would make sure he had plenty on her, plenty to manipulate her with. So she very well may have something worse in her file.
• She reexplains the baby theory to Ben: Immune system attacks baby in women who’ve conceived on the island. Ben is dismissive though. He’s clearly interested in a little sumpin-sumpin instead. This makes me think something very very bad…
• What if Ben has created this women die issue to keep Juliet? I still think it’s possible he unconsciously and psychically created the women/baby issue because of his mother issues. But it’s possible Juliet has succeeded, but he keeps killing the women anyway, or he keeps changing her data, just to keep her. Then I think, he told Alex he took Karl so she wouldn’t get pregnant, so he must really believe that pregnant women will die. Then I think, no, he could still have told her that because he knows if Alex got pregnant he wouldn’t let her die, thus foiling his own plan to sabotage Juliet and keep her for his own. Muhahahaha!
• Claire asks Locke to let her talk to Miles because she might get out of him who the freighters ARE, not just who they are not. I say she wants to talk to Charlie. She’s all into psychics, she will totally ask to speak to Charlie. It’s a good plan, actually. Come on, Locke!

• Ben hilarity: “It didn’t have a number on it, did it?” HA
• Ben keeps manipulating Locke so easily. “Amenable for coercion.” Indeed. Remember, Alex said Ben will make you THINK it was your idea. But it wasn’t. Ben has probably been planning Locke’s rise to power for a while. Harper says he’s exactly where he wants to be. Ben says he has no more bargaining chips. HA! Of course, maybe his plan failed. Juliet didn’t shoot Daniel. She let him render the gas inert. Seems bad for Ben since he may be counting on using that gas again.
• Ben’s plan: WTF is it? To wipe the Island clean?
• Juliet and Goodwin: “Why? Cuz Ben has a crush on you?” Uh…it’s a bit more than that, buddy. Bam, Ben sends Goodwin to the tailies and to his death, which at the end it seems he knew was coming. More evidence of his having flashes? Probably not. Probably the fact that he is a genius analyst and knew Ana-Lucia would nail Goodwin eventually. Sick. Bastard.
• Ben tells Locke “If my people wanted me they’d have stormed this place long ago.” HA. Manipulation. They’ve got their instructions. Ben really is where he wants to be. Stupid Locke.
• More Ben hilarity: “I taped over the game.” HAHAHAHA
• Ben knows about Charles Widmore! Charles Widmore does know about the Island! He is so behind the plant of 815 at the bottom of the ocean. This has been coming since the first summer without Lost, in the ARG. So! Excited!!! Ben says he doesn’t know how Widmore knows, but he SOOO does. The journal.
• Locke: “Tell me who your man on the boat is.” Ben: “All right. But you might want to sit down first.” At first I went: It is SO Michael. Now, I’m certain it isn’t. It’s WALT. Walt can get messages to Ben from off the island through his abilities. Walt can appear to Locke when Ben wants and get him to stop the freighters from coming to the Island. Ben shot Locke, but had plans for him when he got tied up and couldn’t talk Jack out of it. So he called up Walt.
  Ben’s dinner with Juliet. Creepy. Mention of Zack and Emma (sad). Tried to manipulate her about Goodwin, but she wasn’t buying it. “His assignment will be over soon. I promise.” He was just waiting for the inevitable.

• “Who are we to question who’s on the List?” Ben seemed dismissive of this as well. Does that mean the Lists aren’t so the big deal she’s been led to believe they are? Or is his obsession with Juliet taking over his caring about everything?
• OK, the lists. We know Jacob makes the lists of who to take. But Ben asks Ethan and Goodwin to provide lists in 3 days. So now I’m thinking all that meant was a list of who survived so they could narrow down who they bothered started files on.
• We get a Jack/Kate moment and a Jack/Juliet moment. It occurs to me that Juliet is to Jack as Sawyer is to Kate. Juliet is Jack’s obvious match. They are both doctors, both trapped by Ben, both self-sacrificial and required to use their skills to save friends, sisters; both required to be leaders when they didn’t want to be; both have similar leadership qualities. They make sense. Same with Kate and Sawyer. They are both lawless and self-centered, both believe they are not worthy of anyone better than each other. They make sense. Just an interesting parallel.
• Then we see it’s kind of Juliet’s fault that Jack got in the mess with Ben that he did. At first she just thought he could help Ben, then she said he was cute, which probably pissed Ben off pretty good. And I think she probably saw a savior for herself in Jack, probably offering to be the one to manipulate him into doing Ben’s surgery. She knew she had to get out from under Ben’s thumb and that Jack might do it given the right motivation. I really hate her and love her for this.
  And now, of course, she has kissed Jack in front of Ben, which ought to really rile him up. Is she still manipulating Jack thinking he can save her from Ben, or did she really give away her true emotions when she kissed him in front of Ben, believing then that Ben really was trapped and Jack really had won?

• The Tempest: OK, Daniel was trying to render the gas inert, but the manual override wasn’t working. So to counter someone trying to hack the system, the computer contaminates the area. Right? OK, so there really was no danger to the Island, and in fact, Juliet not shooting them saved the Island, possibly permanently if the gas is inert now. (Also, side thought about Dan: He cried when he saw 815 found at the bottom of the ocean because he knew these people and the situation in the future? Since we now know he has a constant, that implies he flashes.) But how did Daniel get the right code to work at the right time? How did he know what it was?
• Juliet and Ben at Goodwin’s body. Scariest. Scene. Ever. “How can you not know that you’re MINE!” Then, sweetly “Take as much time as you need.” Think of all the times we’ve seen Ben show emotion and how all those times we couldn’t believe any of it. But this ONCE, he was really who he is. *shudder*
• Juliet to Jack “Ben’s gonna win.” “He knows here to find me.” Once again, a selfish manipulation on her part, or truth about how she feels? I really think it’s truth that works in her favor.
• Best Ben scene out of all of the awesome Ben scenes: “See you guys at dinner!” I was cracking up at him cheerfully strutting along with his new bedsheets!